Amber Glass
by RevivedEragonReader
Summary: Many years have passed since the fall of Galbatorix and while the land isn't perfect, it is much better than it had been. Riders are no longer sparse and Eragon as been busy with the teaching of these young riders. However, our story begins in the city of Dras-Leona with a young girl, only 11 years of age, with an interesting background and new skills. If she only knew of her fate.
1. Prologue

I have always known I was different. Everybody says that about themselves, but I knew I was. Others didn't know, everybody had merely assumed that I was human, and by outwards appearances, it seemed so.

However, not everything is as it seems.

I'm not actually human… at least not completely.

I'm actually a hybrid.

Now one may be inclined to say, "But wait, now that Alagaesia is at peace, there have been some hybrids." Well yes, that is very true… but something must be said of a hybrid of the solitary Were-cats.

Yeah, I'm the daughter of a Were-cat and my mother was a human. Humans, I have learned, are very easy to trick and manipulate. Now while Were-cats are solitary, I am still unsure as to why my sire decided to bed a human.

As you may have guessed, I know not who my father is… but that works fine by me. My mother, however, I knew well. She died a few years ago from a disease that wrought forth a violent cough, so much so that she would cough blood at times. It was contagious for she passed it on to quite a few of our neighbors who also succumbed to the disease.

So at the young and tender age of 8, I had lost my mother and was claimed by none.

It was a miracle I survived this long. I was now 11 years old and it was that time of the year. The dragons were returning once more with more eggs in search of new riders.

I never attended these runs, I was certain that I would never be chosen due to being art Were-cat, which were not included in the new order.

This year, however, I felt something strange pulling me toward the center streets. This is where the run would happen. The riders would stroll down the streets of Dras-Leona, the ones wide enough at least, bearing the few eggs they had left, normally four or five.

As I arrived to the corner where they were landing, I caught sight of a rather small egg in the hands of a dwarf rider, the size of the egg was maybe twice the size of my fist. My eyes were locked onto it, the egg reflecting an odd arrangement of green and red.

I shook my head and sighed, wondering what had come over me. I myself knew it wouldn't pick me….

_How would you know? _A foreign voice asked

My head snapped up, looking for the person who somehow read my thoughts, before seeing that a pale green dragon further ahead, a young one but its golden brown eyes had shown much wisdom. Its, I mean, _her_ rider paid little mind to the exchange… almost like they didn't hear.

…

The dragon seemed to blink in amusement when I merely blinked without an answer. _Come to the choosing ceremony tomorrow… maybe one of these fledglings will hatch for you, young one._

With that, the suddenly known and large presence left, leaving me to reflect her words as well as argue against my indecisiveness. Long after the crowd had faded from the street, after the sunlight had made its decent behind the hills, and

At last, I lifted my dark head up, the tight black curls falling around my head bobbing as I did. My golden-green eyes flashed in determination. _I shall go._


	2. Chapter 1

That night I had found a space near a bakery. The baker often took pity on me and would stoke his fires hotter than usual near the end of the day, allowing me to have enough warmth to survive the night.

I wasn't known to be a heavy sleeper, so the moment the sun's warm glow returned from the east and made its way over the roofs of the homes, I was awake. The sun's rays warmed my body, making me feel safe enough to allow to tips of my very small ears poke through the tops of my curly black hair.

That was how I knew I was part were-cat, even if my mother hadn't told me so. I have tried pulling them off, but that only cause me pain as they were attached to my while remaining fully functional.

I sighed, noting that the sun was awakening many others now as it crept over the landscape. With a disgruntled look, I bundled all my items together, a small brush made of fish bones, a few coins for my dinner, a thin blanket, spare clothes, and a small ring from my mother, before tying it to my waist and walking towards the center streets.

Already there were nearly a hundred people congregating at the large building, a new one made for the riders and their dragons while they stayed in the city, waiting for them to come out. I snorted and glanced at the sun, only trying to determine its position and estimate the time.

The riders and their dragons would not emerge for another hour, it was not even seven yet. With this in mind, I made my way to a small and cheap shop on the main street. Thankfully they were open and gave me half a loaf for only 2 coins.

Splitting the loaf in half, part for now and the rest for later, and fish if I was lucky, I made my way back to the building while nibbling it thoughtfully.

Yesterday was a truly odd occurrence. The dragons typically weren't intrusive and didn't speak to many other people… directly at the least. I took another small bite of the bread, eating slowly as to fill myself more, contemplating why the dragon had decided to speak to me. _Perhaps… she knows an egg will pick me._

I shook my head violently, knocking my curls away from my ears by accident, forcing me to react quickly and re-cover them before anybody saw. "As if, the dragons may hatch for humans, but not for me." I said persistently to myself. This drew a few strange looks, but was easily disregarded.

_Then why go?_ I sighed softly and my inner question. I knew the answer, despite my insistent denial. Truth was… I wanted proof I wasn't normal. I wanted proof I couldn't be normal and the dragon wouldn't hatch for me. I wanted it more than water. Having that conviction would make it easier to try and accept my oddness, to accept a life of hiding what I was from both of my kind.

I sighed, thinking how awful it was to think that. So I walked and stepped just before the steps leading to the large and great hall where the riders were, my bread nearly gone and my stomach filled from the bread, waiting for a few more minutes until the riders would emerge and allow the children to walk in and be given a chance to be a rider.

Thankfully, I did not have to wait long with my bread, although it was gone by the time the doors opened.

The riders wore bright expressions, even the one who was an urgal. The dragons themselves gleamed with pride and were sparkling in the sun's bright rays. My eyes swept across the elegant people and a smile touched my face, tugging up my lips at their corners. `

"Welcome, people of Dras-Leona." One of the riders said, his voice having a pleasant sound to my ears. The woman next to him, obviously an elf, stepped forward, her lips stern and professional, but her eyes betrayed her as they shone with excitement and a feeling of tenderness.

"Children, I ask that you get in lines of four in order to enter and see the dragon eggs." She said, her voice actually ringing and soft. I sobered up, however, and slowly proceeded to the line to the left. A few minutes passed as we waited for the lines to quiet down enough before being lead into the room. There, on the table, were four eggs, each one shinning beautifully.

I was in the line before a deep blue egg with slight red tones on the shell. The one to the right was green and gold, the next was brown with a very slight pink-red hue, and then there was the egg I had spotted earlier. Today the red-green markings contrasted even more than before… but its size was also more noticeable. The other eggs were nearly twice its size. The dragon would be small….

So we made our way through the eggs, each person putting their hands on the eggs. One person claimed they felt the dragon shift, so they were pulled aside and would be asked to hold the egg later so long as nobody claimed such.

My palms began to sweat as I was put before the first egg, the blue one. I was nervous. I knew that this one at least would not hatch for me, but I was nervous because I was closer to the small one. I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the egg. Nothing happened, but I felt the slow heartbeat of the baby dragon within the egg. I released my breath and looked up, just noticing the golden brown eyes spying me with smugness.

I was startled, but merely gave a tight smile back at the somewhat familiar dragon before moving to the next eggs. This one thumped against its shell, but I knew it was not for me…

_It would seem the other boy was right_. I thought to myself, this being the egg he had claimed was his. It would hatch soon, perhaps after we left the room, and he would become a rider as well. I glanced at the boy, who was staring at the egg already.

He already looked infatuated with the creature inside, his brown eyes clear and bright. The dragon was for him. That much was clear. It would seem I was staring too long for the boy looked up in alarm and surprise at the same time an older girl, maybe 3 years older than I, nudged me gently.

I shook my thoughts away and then touched the next egg, feeling nothing in this one as well. Their rider had yet to touch it. I broke out into a sweat and my heart sped up in my chest as I stood before the small egg. I swallowed and summoned my courage. Anticipation filled my being, almost as in premonition.

The green dragon was no longer staring smugly but curiously. As I summoned my strength to touch the egg, a new presence entered my mind. I somehow recognized it as the dragon from before, but she merely watched in curiosity.

_She is very curious…._ I thought to myself, not certain if it was an uncommon trait among their species. My hand touched the egg and I closed my eyes.

My eyes went wide in surprise as a sense of right filled me. The dragon removed herself from my mind and went to look at the rest of the crowd. I hardly noticed, staring at the egg in surprise. As if in response, the dragon within moved and kicked the egg with its feet, making an audible thump.

Before I could open my mouth to tell the riders, the rider of the green dragon, an elf, was up and guiding me to stand next to the boy I had been staring at. "If it hatches within the next few hours, it means you are its rider." He said softly, smiling softly as he saw my hands shake.

They weren't shaking from excitement, though. They were from fear. I swallowed roughly, feeling like my throat was coated with cotton. _Me. A Dragon Rider!_ My thoughts were racing at nearly a hundred miles per hour. _This can't be possible! I'm part were-cat! Dragons don't hatch to us!_ I felt my body shudder as I stood near the boy.

Like him, I stared at the egg, but my eyes were filled with mixed emotions. Fear and surprise more apparent, but a sense of relief and happiness tinged it.

It was nearly an hour later before the children had finished, but no more had joined me or the boy. The doors had closed, after all had left and I was left with the riders and the boy.

It was then I decided to actually see him. He was fairly tall, about a whole head more than I, with a messy mop of brown hair and brown eyes. He had high cheek-bones, light skin, an average nose and a strong jaw-line. He was lanky, but he was young so he would fill out.

I looked away before he would notice me again and my eyes went back to the eggs. The blue-green egg was rocking a bit more vigorously as the other eggs were collected by the riders. My egg remained on the table and only rocked in slight intervals.

Within moments of this, we were allowed to go and touch the eggs again, hopefully encouraging them to hatch faster. I walked back to the red green egg and placed my hand on it. The egg gave a tremor and a loud noise came from the blue egg.

The boy was stiff from excitement and he seemed nearly illuminated with joy. I couldn't help but smile. The noises grew louder and more frequent as time progressed, some even coming from my own.

The dragon suddenly burst from his egg and fell on the table, embryotic fluids now on the table as the small dragon tried to gain its wits about it. When it saw their rider, it cheeped in acknowledgement and continued to stretch its head about. I chuckled softly and the boy held his hand out, waiting for the dragon to do it in return.

He gave a hiss as the dragon touched his palm and the gedwëy ignasia was imprinted into his palm. I then directed my attention to the egg before me and I then held it with my two hands. The egg shook more and more, cracks appearing in the egg.

Before long, it too fell out of its egg and onto the table. The dragon was a green color, it remaining dark green across its back and to the tip of its tail, but growing lighter towards the head. All along the body were small strips of red and crimson, twisting into a pattern or swirls and lines and continuing across the stomach, which was a very pale and subdued green.

Bright blue eyes stared at me intelligently, observing. I smiled ever so slightly and reached my left hand out, allowing the dragon to touch my hand. I grit my teeth at the cold, yet pleasant, sensation. The dragon gave a small noise and then I noticed its size to the other newborn.

My heart dropped as I noted it was only half the others size.

The riders, who until then were silent observers, approached us and requested we pick up our dragon.

We complied, the currently small creatures voicing their complaint as we were then lead to small rooms.

The elf who was the rider of the green dragon stood in the doorway. "You shall find this place more than comfortable. If you need something, please do not hesitate to ask. However," His voice, which had been calm until then, became stern. "Try to not ask for foolish things and make sure you both meet us in two hours." With that, he turned and left.

I looked at the boy and then put my dragon on the floor, its grumbling complaints and thrashing causing scrapes on my arms due to its scales. I smiled at the other and motioned him to do the same.

Once we did that, I then plucked out my half loaf of bread and handed it to him. "Here, I already ate." I told him before sitting on one bed in the corner.

He said nothing after that, so I lied down and closed my eyes, feeling the dragon crawl up next to me. I frowned and realized I had no meat to feed it. "Sorry." I said to it, gently touching the tiny head. It gave a cry of irritation before settling down by my head, in the crook of my neck in fact, and closed its eyes. I sighed and closed my eyes as well, but didn't fall asleep.

Instead, I thought for the next two hours, curious of what the riders would talk to us about.

**Hello! I didn't say it in the last chapter, but I am now. I do not own Eragon, the inheritance series, or anything else. **

**So I am an author on the site and if you guess right, well kudos to you. Anyways, I am sure you all notice that the character is a girl, and it would seem she doesn't have a name. You guys, whoever is reading this at least, can help me with that. **

**Thanks a ton guys for reading this and tell me how it is. I will edit this chapter tomorrow, so feel free to tell me how to fix this chapter so it is more enjoyable to read. **

**Thanks again guys and stuff. **


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Eragon, the inheritance series, or anything but the thoughts that go into this story. I also do not own any of the pictures I will add on here. **

**Enjoy, and remember to review. **

I must have dozed off at some point because the next thing I was aware of was how much time had passed. Careful to not wake the still dozing dragon near my head, I took a peak out the window and muttered softly to myself.

I stood up, using my hands to not let the dragon fall and roll down the pillow, instead buffering it. My attempts were a surprise to it for it nipped my hand, drawing a few points of blood. I hissed at the sharp sting, but chuckled softly and then proceeded to fix my hair.

"I'm Brendon." I heard from across the room. I hadn't forgotten the boy, but I had thought he wouldn't talk. How foolish of me.

I frowned to myself and turned around. "Nice to meet you then." I replied, my voice polite and curt. I then tugged at my clothes, a pair of leggings and a loose shirt making them somewhat presentable.

"Won't you tell me your name?" Brendon asked, picking his dragon up and putting it on his shoulders.

My frown deepened as I picked up my own dragon, the lines of red scales glimmering as I lifted it around my neck and to my shoulder. "My name?" I asked, stalling.

As he was about to speak again, I looked at the sun and turned to the doorway. "We have to go meet them." I said, stepping out the door and into the hall. Thankfully, I knew the way back and made my way quickly, not eager to answer the question.

When I stepped into the large room where the table had once been, I noticed it had changed entirely. The room formerly had a large wooden table in the center of the room which held the eggs and there was a balcony overhead, a room above had been cloaked by a red curtain. The trim of the curtain had been gold and held by a thick rope. Most of all the room had been cold.

Now the room itself seemed alive and warm. I paused before entering, looking at all the things that had changed. The room was now open, the curtain pulled away and revealed a bright room which held the rider's blades as well as their saddles and the two eggs that hadn't hatched. I smiled as I looked at the eggs, briefly admiring before looking at the riders.

They must have noticed us when we walked in, but had not acknowledged us yet. So I stood there, next to Brendon as we waited silently. Our two dragons seemed interested in each other, sniffing each other's necks and twisting their tails rapidly.

After a few minutes, the riders turned to us. "Come, we can eat while we talk." The dwarf said, his voice surprisingly deep for his stature. Brendon stepped forward, walking towards the table with a calm expression. I paused momentarily before making my way to the table as well, which was lined with food, mostly vegetables but there were a few bits of meat on plates.

I sat down on the corner, not entirely comfortable to be right next to any of these powerful riders, more so because of my race. I knew they would not judge me, but it still was odd and almost shameful. I withheld a sigh and looked at the riders, specifically the one who rode the pale green dragon with golden eyes.

There was a moment of silence before chatter filled the room as we all ate. Things continued on in this fashion for a few minutes before the oldest of the riders, an urgal, glanced at us before taking a bit of a chicken leg. "So what are your names?" He asked.

Brendon was quick to reply, feeding his dragon a sliver of meat as he did so. I, however, was slower to answer. I thoughtfully nibbled the bread before, sliding my hand up to hand my dragon and adequate piece of deer meat.

"Well?" One asked, encouraging me to reply.

I sighed and put my hands down. "My mother never gave me a name, unless 'You, come here' counts." I replied, my voice having a tinge of scorn in it.

An uneasy atmosphere filled the room as the silence stretched. "Why not give yourself a name?" Somebody advised. I glanced up and met the eyes of the femal elf from before.

"..What?" I said, dumbfounded.

A low chuckle echoed in the room. "Give yourself a name. If you have none, pick one." She explained as I handed my dragon another sliver of meat. It gave a rumble of happiness as it set to devouring it.

I thought for a few seconds and sighed. "I never thought to do so." I said earnestly before smiling ever so slightly, my lips taunt and pressed together.

"Have you any idea?" Brendon asked to my left, chewing thoughtfully on a leg. I shook my head and sighed.

"Not in the slightest." I told him. He hummed within his mouth of food and then dropped the subject.

The male human rider then decided now was the time to speak to us. "So you know you are now to go into training, yes?" He asked, but it seemed it was a rhetorical statement since he continued to speak. "We will fly you to the east of the Hadarac Desert, where the new lands are."

He took a pause to sip at some mead. "There you will meet with Master Eragon and Master Saphira. They will teach you everything you need to know about being a rider and anything else you need or want to know."

I bit my lip at the thought of leaving Dras-Leona. While I had nothing here to tie me down, I didn't want to leave the place I knew as home. I sighed tuning the other out as I thought about the pros and cons. I then felt an odd presence in my conscience and looked up in alarm before realizing it was the small dragon. While it couldn't communicate yet and wouldn't for a time, it still could touch my mind and feel me. I smiled softly at the contact and then looked back to the man as he said, "Any questions?"

It took me a minute before I nodded. "Yes, how many others are there training now? And how long does it usually take?" I inquired. The man gave a bent smile, something of amusement while he tried to stay professional.

"There are not too many, but there are quite a few. Worry not, though. There is more than enough space and room or everybody there as well as things to do for fun, such as read." He replied. "As for how long, well, you decide that."

I paused. "You mean we decide in the way that how fast and efficiently we learn dictates it, right?" I inquired and was given a nod in return. I nodded and then continued to eat as Brendon asked some questions.

"Do you teach us how to read?"

"How long will we live?"

"Will we be able to visit our family?"

"Can we go see our families and say good bye?"

"How long before we can talk to our dragons?"

"How do we name them?

The questions went on and on. I was pleasantly surprised to see the patience the riders had, and it made me comfortable. I was getting full, and so was the small dragon on my shoulder. I gave it another piece and it finally ate no more.

I was surprised by how much it ate for its size, but shrugged. Just as they were going to let us go and bid farewell to our family, I had another question.

"I don't mean to sound insulting, but why was my dragon's egg so small?" I asked softly. My dragon gave and indignant cry and glared at me. I sighed and pet its head with a smile, crooning gently.

"… That is a story for another time." They replied, obviously at a loss for addressing me. "In any case, you can go now and say you farewells." He said, standing up. The other riders around the table stood and Brendon put the dragon on his shoulder.

Just as he was going to walk out, he was stopped by one of the riders. "One more thing. At least one of us should accompany you so nothing bad befalls on you and two, you must know our names." He said.

Brendon sighed softly, a bit put out by waiting. Meanwhile, my small dragon and I stayed at the table while they spoke. They went around the table, the two elves being Celnia and Ládince, the Urgal was Graznogh, the dwarf was Grimstbor, and the human was Dwayne.

In the end, Graznogh was the one who went with Brendon, being a good person to ward off any danger and defend.

Graznough had a dark red dragon with glittering ruby wings, Celnia had a brown dragon while Ládince had the Golden dragon, Dwayne had a black-gold dragon and Grimstbor had a blue-green dragon, the scales slowly shifting from the blue at the head to a deep green at the tail. They were all beautiful.

I was going to make my way back to the room to rest and go over my things before we left. One of the riders, Celnia, called me. "Do you not have any family?" she asked. I frowned and shook my head silently. "No, I never knew my father and my mother died a few years ago. I've been on my own since." I replied to her. Celnia's eyes saddened and she nodded.

"Well, if you wish to go and say farewell to those you know, you can." She offered. I smiled softly.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't know anybody else very well." I replied. "I appreciate the offer greatly."

I then made my way to the room, and this time nobody stopped me.

Brendon returned much later, obviously high off of what must have been a hero's welcome. I watched as he and his dragon lied on the bed, the pair dazed.

It was then I noticed the age in his face and frowned. He was much older than I had originally thought. "Aren't you 15?" I questioned. He glanced over, somewhat aware of my question.

"No, I'm almost 17." He responded, closing his eyes. "You are young, 12?"

I nodded at him and sighed softly. "Yeah." I replied, resisting the urge to flick my ears.

He hummed and nodded, falling silent. After a few moments, the sounds of snoring filled the room and I sighed, sitting up to look at my dragon. It had been ignoring me since my question earlier. I touched the top of its head and smiled softly.

"You know, you can't be mad with me forever?" I asked. "If you do, we would be a rather sad pair of riders." A small noise of amusement came from the dragon and it sent me an image of my smile. I chuckled and tapped its head. "I was wondering why your egg was smaller too. I still care for you, but I was only being curious."

The dragon huffed and then lied on the pillow, closing one eye before staring at me expectantly. I chuckled and lied down, pulling my leggings down to be more comfortable. The dragon was super warm and it heated up my neck as I began to nod off. I suddenly awoke and stared at it, nudging it with my mind. "I wonder how long it will be before I know what you are." I murmured. The dragon huffed irritably and I finally conceded to sleep. Moments later, a second pair of snores filled the room.

**What did you guys think? Hope you liked it and tell me what I could do to make this better. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope to update by Friday. Tata, happy reading.**


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